John Malkovich has pulled out of a planned performance of his musical play, The Music Critic, in Israel after a press release falsely attributed quotes to him. The 72-year-old Dangerous Liaisons star was set to bring the production, which has previously toured across Europe and the United States, to the Charles Bronfman Auditorium in Tel Aviv on April 13. However, Malkovich announced Tuesday that he had decided to cancel the tour stop due to a fabricated quote written by a local PR company.
The Tel Aviv date was meant to be one of several touring stops throughout Europe and the Middle East,” Malkovich said in a statement. He continued: “A PR company hired by the Israeli promoter drafted a quote for the article that was attributed to me, though I never made the statements that were quoted, nor was I consulted before they were printed. I did not utter these phrases, and they most certainly are not approved by me, nor do they reflect my feelings.
The fact that they were printed as direct quotes from me is unacceptable and untenable. For this reason, I have decided I cannot participate in the Tel Aviv performance.” The statement originally published by The Jerusalem Post claimed Malkovich said he was “thrilled to return to Israel and look forward to meeting the warm Israeli audience once again, to whom I feel a strong closeness and solidarity.” In a correction now included in the initial story, The Jerusalem Post wrote that “Alon Yurick, the show’s Israeli producer, clarified that the original press release contained an incorrect quote resulting from a misunderstanding and apologized for the error.” The publication has since removed the false quote. In his statement, the actor added that his appearance in a country “does not constitute approval of said country’s policies, nor actions, nor its elected or unelected leaders.” “My appearances would also not condone nor mean that I am in supposed ‘solidarity’ with any particular political cause, nor with the killing of innocents, nor with any acts of terrorism, nor any other kind of barbarity,” he said.
Created and conceived by Russian-German violinist and composer Aleksey Igudesman, The Music Critic stars Malkovich as an “evil critic who believes the music of Beethoven, Chopin, Prokofiev and the likes to be weary and dreary,” according to an official description. The American actor’s performance would have been a rare appearance by an international artist in Israel amid the ongoing conflict with Palestine, which has led many stars to boycott the country and its film institutions. Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Extract — continue reading at the source.
